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Friday 7th March, 2014
Hi
Just when you think that you have heard it all you haven't.....this week a lady asked for a lesbian
lemon. Her mother suggested that if she remembered, Lesbian
lemon that we would work out what the lemon was... lol and of course we did, a midst much laughter, no prizes for guessing, the
Lisbon. While we are on the subject of
lemons, the
Lisbon is a true lemon and with that real tangy flavour compared to the classic
Meyer. Now there are other
lemons that don't have such nicknames like our good ole Lisbon such as
Yen Ben, which happens to be a Lisbon type and
Genoa, and there are a few others as well. Moving along from lemons with unforgettable nicknames to red and blue berries that are related to the Ericas and Heathers.
Kim from Growing Spectrum was around the other day with her display of plants with which to tempt us and right down the front of the van was this plant with red berries. I have always been a sucker for any plant that has attractive berries and so we just had to have some of these . Now a quick look at Wikipedia revealed that this plant has many common names so I reckon that I best stick to its proper name of
Gaultheria and my guess is it's species is procumbens. as it has a low and prostrate form.
Now Kim knowledgeably tells us that
Gaultheria is related to the Blueberries and I hear that you ask ...LOL what family is that?...... Well, they all belong to the Heath or Erica family and if you look at the flowers of a classic Erica or Heather, they have the same form as those of the Blueberry and (I make the assumption and that is always dangerous in horticulture) as our new found
Gaultheria. Remember that its the bits and pieces that are used for sex and of course these are the flowers which group plants into the families even though their leaves can be quite different. I imagine that is due to them growing or evolving in quite different positions.
I also read that the red berries of the
Gaultheria are edible and apparently have a menthol, minty flavour but I bet they can't take the place of the blueberry whose Erica like flowers are followed by those lovely dark blueberries that I have been enjoying with my homemade muesli and Piako yogurt lemon curd.
The leaves of our new plant the Gaultheria can be dried and infused as a tea. I think that I will prefer my traditional tea made from Camellia leaves. Whilst mentioning Camellias, all our new seasons selection have now arrived at the Garden centre. Click
here to check them out on the web.
Just to finish on our new found family of Ericaceae, or the heaths, they prefer acidic and infertile soils and our
Gaultheria Very Berry also likes a dappled light position, though is more likely to have more berries in a sunnier position.
NEW IN THIS WEEK
Luculia grandiflora This is and oldie and one that my mother remembers from her mothers garden and is a sweetly fragrant shrub. The clusters of tubular white flowers will fill your garden with their delightful fragrance. There is also a pink form and I'm hoping that we will have some of these in time to come. Large oval green leaves and red veins and stalks form a rounded upright shrub. Plant in rich soil in a sunny spot and protect from frost. Though technically evergreen Luculia does tend to drop quite a few leaves in cold winters.
This is another evergreen shrub that used to be around and I don't know if it has a common name but its medium sized shrub with ferny foliage and white fluffy flowers like silk tree flowers. The red form that we have isn't as big growing as the white.
Leonotis leonurus or Lions Tail It's all about shrubs this week and this one is named for it's lions tail shaped flowers in orange. An evergreen shrub that will grow to approximately 2 metres, prefers a sunny position and there is a white form as well.
Blechnum Silver Lady (Crown Fern) Now we sold out of these last week so decided to get another batch in so if you are keen to put some in, follow the link. Also known as the dwarf tree fern as it develops a short trunk when mature. These are quite cool planted as a group and will prefer classic fern conditions to do their best, dappled light and adequate moisture. They are frost tender and so out of the frost will see them keep looking great. Pittosporum Golfball Green and
Pittosporum Goldenball We had to get some more of these in this week as they were such a great buy, on sale, were $19.99 down to $14.99. I like these and if you are after a small growing pitto then these are pretty good. A light trim will keep them nicely rounded and bushy. Excellent for in a pot, used as accent plants in the garden or even mass planted as a series of ball shapes. You could even plant them in a line and hedge them. Pre order them online if you are after some.
Feijoas 'Unique' is a reliable Feijoa that is self-fertile and produces abundant crops of delicious medium to large oval fruit. The skin is smooth along with the pulp and the flavour carries a hint of pineapple. Starts to fruit from a young age. Happy in a sunny well drained spot. These are an excellent buy at only $12.99 each.
Roses to cut or not to cut...
Its that tricky time of year and if you cut your
roses back now then they will be back in flower in 7 weeks time which will take us to around the end of April and give you one last flush for the year. If your roses are coming up to bloom then once they have finished, don't deadhead them or remove any spent growth but rather let them grow hips and finish for the season. They may look untidy but enjoy the hips and let the growth harden off so that you can prune them in July. You don't want to be pruning them in late March or April as they will be coming up to flower in winter.
Planting out now.
Autumn is one of the best times of year to plant all we need is some rain. If you find that you have an established containerized tree or shrub that you have planted in the garden. These few tips will ensure that you have success. Place the entire root ball, bag and all in a bucket of water and wait for the bubbles to stop. This will mean that the root ball is thoroughly wet. Plant to the same depth as in the pot in the garden and water well the surrounding soil and this may be all that you need to do for a week or so. Now the problem with plants that are well rooted in the container is that they sometimes use the available water in their rootball and dry out even though the surrounding soil is wet. If this happens you need to get water into the rootball and Harry's trick is to create a moat and mine is to use an upside down coke bottle as a funnel. Once the tree or shrub is established this wont be a problem again
HOUSEKEEPING
If you have specific requirements for roses or trees, now is the time to order these for winter.
If you are ordering online it's worthwhile using our customer log in as you can now view all of your orders and transactions and keep your details up to date.
Check us out on Facebook too, Click here.
Don't you hate it when you lose what you have written, so I hope that 2nd time it will be just as good as the first time. Luckily I have a bit of a memory. Its going to be another fine weekend even though I would really like some / a lot of rain. Whatever you are up to have a great weekend!.
Cheers
Lloyd, Harry and the Wairere Team
Make it a Wairere weekend where even GNOMES know that gardening's not a drag.
Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, RD 1, Hamilton
07 824 34 30
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2014 Newsletters...
Lily of the valley 2014 (24th May, 2014)
New Year (23rd January, 2014)
Grapes dahlias and more (29th January, 2014)
Test (5th May, 2014)
Fabulous February (6th February, 2014)
Rosmarinus (14th February, 2014)
Bottlebrush (21st February, 2014)
Feijoas Feb (28th February, 2014)
..... Luculia
Camellia debrief (14th March, 2014)
Autumn Planting (21st March, 2014)
Awesome Autumn Sale (21st March, 2014)
Autumn Sale update (28th March, 2014)
Roses Still to Go (4th April, 2014)
Heucheras (12th April, 2014)
Bracteata (18th April, 2014)
test 24th April (24th April, 2014)
Anzac Day (25th April, 2014)
Chefs Choice (2nd May, 2014)
Mothers Day (6th May, 2014)
Sasanquas (16th May, 2014)
and the pot goes on (13th June, 2014)
Strawberries and Daphne (13th June, 2014)
Winter Colour (3rd July, 2014)
Mid Winter (11th July, 2014)
Mid Winter (12th July, 2014)
Its time to prune!!! (18th July, 2014)
Marmalade and Witches (1st August, 2014)
Flowering Nude (5th August, 2014)
Asparagus and Spuddies (13th August, 2014)
Garden Coverings (22nd August, 2014)
Fluff and Stuff (29th August, 2014)
Officially spring (5th September, 2014)
Officially spring (5th September, 2014)
From where I sit (26th September, 2014)
October 3rd (3rd October, 2014)
leaves (5th October, 2014)
Lavender (15th October, 2014)
Its show time (31st October, 2014)
Roses are red pink yellow and more (3rd November, 2014)
Calibrachoa Surprise (13th November, 2014)
Roses In November (21st November, 2014)
Hydrangeaeous (28th November, 2014)
Peanuts (3rd December, 2014)
It's Christmas, Lets get Potty (12th December, 2014)
Its The big day (24th December, 2014)
Its The big day (24th December, 2014)
HL Nurseries Limited t/a Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, R D 1, Hamilton 3281 Ph: (07) 824 3430 Email:
